YouTube has introduced two new measures in its crackdown on ad blockers. There will be either:
Buffer issues. An error message that says “The following content is not available in this app.”
Why we care. YouTube is doing everything possible to ensure that ads are seen by as many free users as possible. YouTube’s war on ad blockers will likely lead to disgruntled users leaving YouTube altogether. Either that or break down and pay YouTube Premium to avoid excessive advertising. If the latter happens, YouTube will make revenue, but in the end it means advertisers will lose reach and exposure.
Application in third-party applications. YouTube is taking active steps to directly deter third-party ad blockers.
“We want to emphasize that our terms don’t allow third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for their audience, and YouTube ads help support creators and enable billions of people to worldwide use the streaming service,” according to TeamYouTube.
The story so far. This is the latest action YouTube has taken to curb the use of ad blockers:
Does YouTube violate privacy laws? YouTube needs to be careful when cracking down on ad blockers, as it could be seen as violating privacy laws. Last October, privacy expert Alexander Hanff filed a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC).
Ad-free experience. The only ad-free experience that YouTube promotes is YouTube Premium. It costs $13.99 in the US and £12.99 in the UK.
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About the author
Anu Adegbola has been a paid media editor for Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu’s career began with
deliver digital marketing campaigns (mainly but not exclusively Paid Search) by creating strategies, maximizing ROI, automating repetitive processes and making all marketing departments efficient through inspiring leadership both on the agency, client and marketing technology side.
Outside of Search Engine Land article editing, she is the founder of the PPC networking event: PPC Live, host of weekly podcast PPCChat Roundup, ibRand Evangelist at ClickTech.
He is also an international speaker with some of the stages he has presented being SMX (USA), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Live Chat, AdWorld Experience (Bologna) and more.
